D&D Beyond Launches on August 15th for $3-6/m

$3/ month isn't that bad. And you really only need it if you want to use homebrew.

 

[Lord_Blacksteel]

Well, I do, for one...

Give me an integrated system with searchable, sort-able, and collate-able monsters, spells, etc over an inert PDF any day...

My big pet peeve, as stated above, is having to deal with combats with multiple monster types. I love having them in game; I hate all the page-turning to deal with them. Even with a PDF, I would be scrolling and/or tabbing continuously to run such a combat. This will give me the ability to have all the monsters in such a combat on one screen...

The solution I use for this: Phone with Turboscan > scan monster statblock from book > print > keep printouts by table for use.

With a wireless printer this is a fast enough process you can do it on the fly during the game.

Sheet protectors + wet or dry erase markers let you mark these things up in all kinds of ways - such as tracking hit points or conditions for multiple monsters - and keep the actual print out clean for re-use.

It's not a "digital solution" but it works pretty well at the table.

 

[schnee]

Absolutely correct as I also only purchased functionality for FG but regardless of symantics I am again paying money to see the same content on a new platform which is all licensed by the same company. The price of admission is just to high even more so as you highlight the fact that alll your doing is enabling functionality.

Yes, and creating a robust, stable, fast, database-driven system is not easy.

Creating the interface - one that will combine data entry, search, interlinked pop-up content, all driven from a single source - is time-consuming.

Re-purposing the content from their books is painstaking.

Keeping servers up and paying for traffic is expensive.

It's like you use Google and Facebook and Amazon and forget they literally create no content, all they do is provide tools, and they then track every single bit of your personal life and sell it to advertisers, and then you have to wade through a barrage of advertisements that are trickily designed as content. And it's 'free', while behind the scenes they make SO much money off of you and your life and your personal data.

You are ALREADY paying through the NOSE for everything else on the web. Wizards is doing us a favor by charging per month and not covering the whole thing in ads.

I just don't want to keep repaying to acces a book I own across several platforms, much like I won't buy skyrim for PC, ps4 and Xbox just to have it available just in case I need it that day on that device. When you buy an app on an iPhone guess what you also get it for your iPad.

Not always. I have a few that were separate purchases. A Roguelike called 'Sword of Fargoal' for example.

I am sure there is a way wizards could of administered this through DMsG in which perhaps you buy a digital unlock of a book and while they refuse to let you have the PDF you get said functionality on various platforms.

Because a well-done PDF would fully enable pirates to never buy a book again. Instead, they're doing some far more interesting and powerful, for the cost of ONE STARBUCKS COFFEE A MONTH.

If you can't afford that, then you obviously have bigger issues in your life than 'having D&D in the most accessible, sortable, searchable, networkable interface possible' and should spend your time fixing those instead.

You want things for free. Sorry. Life isn't free.

 

[Mattia]

Not sure if anybody already said. Days of Wonder when sells a game provides you also a special code to play the same on line. This is what should happen. Provide a code in every D&D book as a password get access to an online information, and link it to the account made for Adventurers League for instance (that might be a step farther).
Instead people wishing to use just the pdf should get the file at a lower price, as specified.
Double billing customers is not the way.

 

[xanstin]

If you can't afford that, then you obviously have bigger issues in your life than 'having D&D in the most accessible, sortable, searchable, networkable interface possible' and should spend your time fixing those instead.

You want things for free. Sorry. Life isn't free.

Creating a false narrative doesn't prove a point. Your attempt to attack me personally is misguided. Not wanting to pay for something in no way implies a financial burden. Also in no way did I imply I wanted it for Free. I think it should be administered through wizards for purchase in which you pay a equitable amount to wizards who in turn pays the 3rd party companies. I am not saying I purchased a HC so I want it all. Development costs money, I am suggesting a change in the delivery method to incorporate a discount for bundling products. It's not an unrealistic business model see Paizo they do it right now successfully with their products as do other companies. No PDF for pirates fine. But maybe pay $50 for digital PHB but then unlock functionality in all 3. Want only FG and DDB ok 40 just 1 30. But with current model it's $90+

Also as I stated before I don't have an issue with sub cost as that pays for servers I am strictly speaking of book content costs.

 

[iwarrior-poet]

I'm interested, but I won't buy in until I see several reviews. WotC's previous efforts in this arena have been epic fails.

 

[darjr]

I'm willing to buy the book twice for the PDF. I'm not alone. I don't need a wizbang funco app either. I can search across PDF. Read them in my epaper Kindle, and even on my Linux machine. Heck even on the CMD line or audible if it comes to it. This thing will only ever be their thing on a phone or website. And it looks like it'll be cluttered with controls and buttons and adds if I don't subscribe. Even if I buy the content. No sub and you get freaking adds over stuff I paid for.

 

[TDarien]

I'm willing to buy the book twice for the PDF. I'm not alone. I don't need a wizbang funco app either. I can search across PDF. Read them in my epaper Kindle, and even on my Linux machine. Heck even on the CMD line or audible if it comes to it. This thing will only ever be their thing on a phone or website. And it looks like it'll be cluttered with controls and buttons and adds if I don't subscribe. Even if I buy the content. No sub and you get freaking adds over stuff I paid for.

https://cl.ly/3N021d10062K

This screen shot to me, is orders of magnitude better than you can ever get in a PDF. Not to mention it will search across multiple sources which you absolutely cannot do with PDFs. Searching on a PDF is rudimentary at best.
It will be able to do everything a PDF can do, and much, much more. It is a vastly superior format. It will be available offline on my phone and tablet, and it flows to fit whatever screen I'm viewing it on.

You clamor for a PDF, but once people see how much more useful something like this can be, they'll switch and never look back.

 

[darjr]

Not for me. It's full of control s and soon adds.

You absolutely can search through multiple PDFs.

And will it work in my Kindle? A PDF would. How about txt to speech for deaf players? And as soon as curse stops support for that app you'll eventually lose access to those books in the proprietary system. PDFs are a well published standard that I could and have written softwre to read.

 

[darjr]

Image paying or content and having to see adds as you read it.

 

[Satyrn]

https://cl.ly/3N021d10062K

This screen shot to me, is orders of magnitude better than you can ever get in a PDF. Not to mention it will search across multiple sources which you absolutely cannot do with PDFs. Searching on a PDF is rudimentary at best.
It will be able to do everything a PDF can do, and much, much more. It is a vastly superior format. It will be available offline on my phone and tablet, and it flows to fit whatever screen I'm viewing it on.

You clamor for a PDF, but once people see how much more useful something like this can be, they'll switch and never look back.

Well, I do think people who are saying "PDF!" are really saying "I want a simple to use digital copy of the rules text without having to pay for for extras like character builders and campaign managers."

That is, I think they may be feeling that D&D Beyond is providing too many features and that means they'll wind up paying more for this awesome searchable text than they ought to, or would be paying if it was just this awesome searchable text.


Plus, of course, the concern that they're buying a product that might require the company to stay in business to continue accessing. This is my big hurdle. I don't want to feel that I'm just leasing the book, that I'll lose what I paid for if the company fails.